The Detroit Tigers played 6,783 baseball games in historic Tiger Stadium before abandoning it after the 1999 season for the new downtown Comerica Park.My father Dan watched his first big-league game here in the 1950s when the ballpark was known as Briggs Stadium. He gave me a ticket stub from the game, and I have kept it for more than 30 years.
My wife and I made a brief stop at the famous corner of Michigan and Trumbull on Dec. 27, 2005, during our first visit to the Motor City.
I'm really glad we did, or else we would have never seen the old ballpark as it looked when it closed.
A group called The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy is working to preserve the playing field and a portion of the stadium from the wrecking ball, but regrettably a large part of the park was dismantled earlier this year.
Check out complete coverage in the Detroit Free Press and visit PreserveTigerStadium.com for more information.
Photo #1: A state of Michigan historical marker used to be mounted on the facade of Tiger Stadium, but it has been stolen since our visit.
Photo #2: Outside Tiger Stadium on Dec. 27, 2005.
Photo #3: Unfortunately, many souvenir shops are also forced to close along with their forgotten big-league ballpark. The building "wearing" this old baseball advertisement was located across the street from Tiger Stadium.
Photos by Darrin M. Devault
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